


depth over distance

by apotheosizing



Category: Fate/Zero, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Canon-Typical Infidelity, Drabble Sequence, F/F, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apotheosizing/pseuds/apotheosizing
Summary: Eight moments in a relationship that could not be.
Relationships: Irisviel von Einzbern/Arturia Pendragon | Saber
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	depth over distance

The scabbard on the altar gleams with golden light. Unbidden, Irisviel places a hand on it, tracing the intricate designs carved minutely and pigmented blue a thousand years ago. She listens while Kiritsugu speaks quietly with Jubstacheit, going over the necessary processes for the summoning that was soon to come. Irisviel is not the Einzbern master but she nonetheless feels a fluttering of butterflies in her stomach when she thinks of what lies ahead.

"King Arthur... we - no - I will be putting my trust in you. I hope you might be able to put your trust in me, in turn."

* * *

"Irisviel!"

Blood stains the snow, the sight knocking Saber's breath from her in a gasp of mist caught in the crystalline air. She drops Excalibur in her haste; its soft landing on a blanket of white is muffled by more than the powdered snow. She places her hand - the injured one - beneath Irisviel's head without so much as a wince of pain to lift her from the ground. Another is placed above her heart.

She can't bear to keep her gaze on the pools of browning red that mark death. She screws her eyes shut, breathes out.

Irisviel breathes in.

* * *

Saber has seen this story play out before. She knows its key players by heart: Guinevere (Emiya Kiritsugu) and Lancelot (Hisau Maiya) and Arthur (Irisviel Einzbern). Or is it now Guinevere (Irisviel Einzbern) and Lancelot (Arthur Pendragon) and Arthur (Emiya Kiritsugu)?

Inexorably, she plays out the steps in the story, yet she cannot bring herself to lament her doomed repetition of old mistakes. She thinks about red eyes sparkling with joy as Irisviel looks out at the sea for the first time. She thinks about offering protection, swearing trust, and comfortable silence.

No.

She cannot bring herself to regret it.

* * *

Avalon's grace can only stave off the degradation for so long. Irisviel stands on the banks of the isle of the grail within, watching the waves ebb and flow with increasing lethargy. She remembers the day Jubastacheit told her what she had been created to do.

Here, all alone, she allows herself to drop the saintly acceptance she wears and grieve for her loss.

She opens her eyes to consciousness and sees Saber kneeling at her side, concern written into every line of her frown. Suddenly, Irisviel realizes she loves her.

She takes the knight's proffered hand with a smile.

* * *

Saber helps Irisviel out of the car, telling the chauffeur that he can leave the lady's luggage in Maiya's capable hands. She is, admittedly, putting on airs but it is worth it when Irisviel laughs in response.

Equally a foreigner, she is not as skilled a guide for Irisviel without a map in hand, but the two wander regardless, Irisviel's hand tugging her own along. They duck into small open-facing shops at a whim. While Irisviel is engrossed in comparing outfits, she steps away for a moment to purchase a bouquet of white flowers interspersed with blue. Irisviel is delighted.

* * *

Watching Saber fight is breathtaking. She skips across the water like a stone, avoiding the tendrils of the monstrous creature Caster had become with ease. The battlefield is chaotic, as the other servants pull their own animosities to the surface and battle in the periphery but Saber is visible by each precise movement as much as her blue standard and armour.

When all else seems lost, Excalibur's light rises up from the lake and pours over the night. Irisviel feels as if she's standing in the wake of the sun. A renewed conviction takes hold; they are going to win.

* * *

Irisviel opens her eyes to the familiar sight of the shore, knowing it is the last time. The water has fouled, a thin layer of darkness covering it like an oil spill. When she reaches a hand into it, she pulls away with a handful of mud clutched in her fingers. She knows that she is no longer Irisviel, she is the Grail at last.

The tide encroaches ever faster, covering the island in scant minutes. As though she was made of sand herself, her body begins to turn to mud. In her last moments, she prays for Saber's victory.

* * *

The grail is overflowing, running hot enough to boil the concrete surrounding them. She needs only strike down Archer and fulfil her wish, but her limbs lock up. The man who holds the key burns the remaining seals to issue a horrible order - destroy the Grail.

Destroy Irisviel.

She knows it's fruitless yet she resists it all the same. She shouts across the collapsing room, "You loved her too! How could you do this?" Excalibur unleashes its torrent, forming cracks in the vessel that grow and grow. In her last moments, Saber swears she sees _her_ face in the light.

**Author's Note:**

> i got sad about these two again so i wrote something sad about them


End file.
